5 Industry Trends You Need To Be Aware Of In The Automotive Sector

The automotive industry continues to develop at an extremely fast pace. With technology advancements and changes in the way that we move and use transport, there are many things which are forcing the industry to adapt and keep up with new processes and adapt their existing skill sets.

The future of mobility is predicted to be EASCY – electrified, autonomous, shared, connected and yearly updated – this will transform the role of cars into a new hybrid, which looks to combine elements of both the home and workplace. Now is perhaps the most exciting time to be working in the automotive sector and there are a few industry trends which are set to become huge.

Making Autonomous Vehicles Less Scary

With so many developments over the last decade in the automotive industry, perhaps the biggest is autonomous vehicles. But, this development also comes a heightened sense of fear and unease from the general public over cars which drive themselves.

People are slowly coming to terms with autonomous technology, especially with lorries and cars, but concern over their safety still bothers 49% of us. Work is continuing to ensure that autonomous vehicles have consistent track safety records, but industry experts predict autonomous driving will make up 40% of all traffic overall in the next decade.

Decline Of Traditional Car Ownership

According to recent reports, the car-sharing market is rapidly increasing, with a number of different concepts taking shape on our high streets. Ford now has a pay-as-you-go service, which offers the promise of guaranteed parking in London and Zipcar offers cars on demand. There are several other schemes running across the world and it is predicted that by 2030, one in three kilometres which are driven will be done so by using a sharing concept. Traditional ideas, such as commercial van leasing and car rentals are still huge industries and grow annually.

Internet Of Things and Connected Cars

Gadgets have come a long way since Toyota’s Sat Nav was first introduced in 2003. It certainly won’t be long before more people adopt IoT-enabled vehicles, thanks to the convenience which they offer users. With personalised journeys, advance information and algorithm-based insurance quotes and premiums, they soon will be a car which really talks to other traffic and lets you know what needs fixing and when.

Human Skill Sets Are Vital

Automation and digitisation bring a huge selection of benefits across the automotive industry. However, what machines can’t do are the tasks which still rely on human skills. The most important skills in 2020 will fall under this category, including critical thinking, complex problem solving and creativity. With the added extras of emotional intelligence and people management, it is extremely unlikely that automation will take over our jobs and make people redundant – they’ll actually be needed more now than ever. It is vital that the industry continues to retrain and upskill employees to keep up with all changes.

The End Of Annual Service

A lot of people moan and groan when it comes to “that time of year” when your car needs to be serviced. With the developments in the industry, it is said that in the not-too-distant future, vehicles will be able to provide drivers with real-time data and get yearly software updates. Vehicles will also be able to tell you when certain elements will need servicing and it is thought that this service and maintenance will, in theory, get rid of annual services as we know it and introduce a safer standard of vehicles all round.